Weekend Wrap Up

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had lovely weekends. Ours was not super exciting due to the fact that I worked on Saturday and all three members of our household have come down with a summer cold in the last 10 days (baby’s just started yesterday and hoping it will be mild since I got the cold first and should be making antibodies now and passing them to her in my breastmilk, definitely a big pro of breastfeeding!). But we still managed to squeeze in some good stuff.​

1. I started Stitch Fix!

I have thought about doing Stitch Fix for a while, because I had friends who do it and have seen it on blogs. I put it off though due to the whole growing a baby watermelon inside my belly for almost a year thing (you can do it for maternity clothes, but I didn’t really feel like I needed a virtual stylist to pick out my maternity clothes because I pretty much only wore leggings and giant sweaters). And then right after Ryley was born, buying clothes for myself was the last thing on my mind. The few times I went to the mall I came away with clothes but only for the baby. If I shopped online I bought baby stuff. The first few months with a new baby (at least the first baby) it feels like all of your time, money, and energy have to be baby related, and so buying for myself just wasn’t something I even thought about. Plus there isn’t a lot of “style” involved in clothing yourself right after birthing a child. For me at least it was all about comfort and ease of breastfeeding. Even for date nights and special occasions I pulled out things from my closet instead of thinking about getting a new outfit. Again it was all baby all the time. I also couldn’t imagine shopping with a newborn, particularly by myself. Going to the grocery store was a challenge enough in those early weeks, much less attempting the mall.

Enter Stitch Fix, which conveniently sends “stylist curated” clothing right to your door each month, wrapped up neatly like a little present. I was pretty doubtful I would like anything the first time. As I filled out the online style profile, I wasn’t sure if I was giving enough information for my “stylist” to really peg me (probably my #1 favorite thing about Stitch Fix is having a “stylist”, it just makes me feel so fancy and high fallutin’, even if she is probably a robot). I also honestly don’t really know what my own “style” is, aside from favoring comfy things and v-neck tees. So I was very pleasantly surprised when my first box arrived and I LOVED everything inside of it, even things I would not have picked for myself and definitely outfit combinations I never would have thought of. I got a pair of skinny jeans that fit amazingly and are as soft and comfy as leggings, a striped sleeveless tee (something I normally would not have chosen, but I think it will be really versatile), a loose cardigan with fringe (normally not a fringe gal but it was so soft and I think it’s actually really cute in person), and a cute necklace. These four things I would never put together, but when I followed the advice of my “stylist” and tried them on together, I actually think it’s pretty funky and fun, while still easy and casual. I feel like I could wear this to a concert or to a baby playdate, which is perfect for my life speed right now.

I also got this sweater with a solid navy front and polka dot back, which I LOVE!

So at least based off this first month, I am very much on the Stitch Fix bandwagon. I kept everything and got the 25% off discount, which brought all 5 pieces in for a total of $165 (which I think is pretty darn reasonable for nice jeans, two nice tops, a cardigan, and a necklace). I think it’s really great for anyone but for moms especially, because it takes the going to the mall with a small child thing out of the equation. It also feels like a little treat, and I’ve realized the last couple of weeks that after almost 5 solid months of only living/breathing/thinking about my baby, I need to start thinking about myself from time to time. In the immortal words of Donna and Tom for Parks and Recreation, sometimes you gotta TREAT YO SELF.

2. I devoured Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and it gave me all the feelings. (ps spoilers ahead if you haven’t read it, so skip to #3 in that case)

Yes, this is a play and not a book. And no, it is absolutely not perfect and is not the same thing as reading one of the Harry Potter books. But still, I loved it. It felt like a little unexpected gift to be able to reenter the lives of these characters, when I think pretty much everyone thought the 7th book was the definitive end of the story. I would kill to see this play on stage (apparently I would have to kill to actually get tickets), and I do think that is probably the ideal way to experience the Cursed Child, but I still got so much out of it reading it on the page. I started reading Harry Potter in middle school, so i feel like I grew up with these books and these characters. And so it was strangely poignant and touching to read about Harry as a father (it also made me feel kind of old!). There were a lot of moments in this that felt like direct gifts to obsessive fans (why hello Snape as the dashing, selfless hero he always way only we never knew about until the end!). The fraught, tentative friendship that developed between Harry and Draco based on their sons’ friendship just destroyed me. Draco’s son Scorpius is possibly my new favorite character in the Harry Potter universe, and his friendship with Albus was the sweet center of this story. The moments between Harry and Dumbledore’s portrait were literally too much. Ron and Hermione as an old but still caring married couple! Professor McGonnogall still at Hogwarts! I loved it all. Of course I would have loved it more as a novel, but beggars can’t be choosers.

3. We made it out to brunch at Tazza Kitchen.

We always struggle to find brunch spots on Sunday. For some reason wherever we go either doesn’t do Sunday brunch or ends its brunch at noon (I’m looking at you Short Pump Baker’s Crust, what civilized brunch place stops serving brunch on a weekend at NOON!?). But this weekend I looked up Tazza Kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to see they have a Sunday brunch. I LOVE Tazza kitchen and it’s probably my favorite Short Pump restaurant for dinner (definitely the best food and vibe). Now it may also be my favorite Short Pump spot for brunch. I wanted to eat the entire menu but restrained myself and went with a sausage sandwich. It had tomato jam, a fried egg, cilantro, and was served on the most perfect crunchy on the outside soft on the inside fresh baguette. SO good. And it came with a perfect side for a hot summer day, fresh watermelon with a little sprinkle of feta and basil. I can’t wait to go back and try the French Toast, or the BLT sandwich, or the Huevos Rancheros, or the breakfast pizza, or literally anything else on the menu. They also have a great outdoor patio which makes it very kid friendly!

4. Ryland got to see her great grandma and five great aunts all at the same time.

With her great grandma (whose maiden name is her namesake) and great aunt Mimi

I went out to lunch with my mom Friday (to the Fancy Biscuit, also AMAZING) and on our way into the city we stopped by my grandmother’s apartment. As luck would have it my dad and all five of my aunts were there (the place where my grandma lives does a big estate type sale every Friday, and you can get amazing things there for very cheap, my family likes to hit it up frequently). Ryland loved getting a little visit in with all five of her great aunts in one place for the first time. I have a huge family in Richmond and I love to see Ryland surrounded by family in the same way that I was growing up 🙂

5. Sleep has been an ever moving target, and that’s okay.

Her “I just woke up mom and you’re already taking my picture” face

Since my last update we have had some sleep victories and fails and I think that’s just the way it’s going to go for a little while. Two nights in a row she fell asleep within minutes and slept a solid five hours (and of course I took forever to fall asleep on these nights since I’ve gotten so used to her sleeping next to me and I kept resisting the urge to go and check and make sure she was still breathing). And then the next couple of nights she resisted falling asleep in the crib completely (she was coming down with a cold so not too surprising). I know at some point we will get into a groove, but for now it’s just going to change by the day, and that’s alright. We are miles ahead of where we were a few weeks ago, simply because I know that it is possible for her to sleep 5-7 hours in the crib at night and fall asleep on her own. We’re going on vacation in a little more than a week which will throw things off. And maybe I’m soft or weak or “spoiling” her, but when my baby is sick and doesn’t feel well I think it’s okay for her to get extra snuggle/nursing time in at night with mom. In fact I think that is exactly what she needs to feel better. I’ve read so many blogs or posts that talk about sleep training and after the first night it goes well that’s usually where the story ends. I know now that just because it goes well one night doesn’t mean it will be that way for every night onward unless you have one of those amazing, sleep all the time babies special ordered from the factory. Babies get sick or start teething or just have an off night. And that’s okay. We all just do the best we can right?

One thing that totally changed my stitch fix game was to link my stylist to a Pinterest board with ideas of things I loved and give her an exact idea on how I hoped things would fit. I found that she often tried to recreate certain outfits, which made my fixes even better!

Reply

Liz

8/26/2016 07:09:35 am

That’s a good idea!! Will definitely do that before my next fix, thanks!